The Colorado Avalanche are one win away from clinching the franchise’s fourth Presidents’ Trophy. The Presidents’ is essentially awarded to the regular-season champion. In other words, the best team during the regular season gets the trophy.
That’s all well and nice. But the trophy that really matters is the Stanley Cup. That’s awarded to the playoff champion, and it’s the trophy that everyone remembers.
Sure, the Presidents’ is nice. It’s a sign that an organization has been successful in building a competitive team. But at the end of the day, the Presidents’ is meaningless unless an organization can bring home the bacon.
That said, there has been an urban legend built around the Presidents’ Trophy Curse, so-called.
Since the trophy first came into play during the 1985-86 season, only eight teams have been the regular-season and playoff champions. That’s about 20% of Presidents’ Trophy winners that go on to win the Stanley Cup.
On the surface, it’s easy to see that winning the regular-season trophy has a very loose correlation to winning the playoff trophy. As such, regular-season success does not guarantee playoff glory.
We all know that. Anyone who watches pro sports can attest to that.
In fact, it’s been a while since a Presidents’ Trophy winner has hoisted the Stanley Cup. The last team to pull off that feat was the 2012-13 Chicago Blackhawks. They won the Presidents’ Trophy that year and punched out the Boston Bruins for their second Cup in four years.
Incidentally, the last time the Avalanche won the Presidents’ Trophy was back in 2020-21. How did that playoff run turn out? The Avs lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round. It’s funny because the next season, the Avs did not win the Presidents’, but won the Stanley Cup.
Avalanche are rare exception to the rule
The Avalanche are a rare exception to the Presidents’ Trophy Curse. Back in the 2000-01 season, the Avs captured the regular-season championship. They went on to win the Stanley Cup, beating the other Colorado franchise, the New Jersey Devils.
That victory was the only time in history that back-to-back Presidents’ Trophy winners took home the Stanley Cup. The following year, the 2001-02 Detroit Red Wings won both the Presidents’ Trophy and the Stanley Cup.
It’s interesting to note that the Red Wings are the only team to win both the Presidents’ and Stanley Cup in the same season twice.
All told, the Avalanche have an opportunity to make history. The Avs can become the second team to win both major trophies in the same season. Most importantly, the Avalanche can disprove that there really is such a thing as the Presidents’ Trophy Curse.
And even if it does exist, well, the Avalanche have immunity to it.